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Edit: Further in-house RPS testing is inconclusive. I’ve rolled back my Nvidia drivers to the previous release and now have a steady framerate (with Gameworks switched on and settings maxed) until I hit a Batmobile sequence, at which point I’m experiencing dips seemingly at random. Alec, on similar hardware, is using the latest drivers and having a better experience., though still has Batmobile problems. John is on AMD – we’ll check back with him soon.

There was no pre-release PC code for Batman: Arkham Knight [official site] so I started the crusade through another long Halloween early this morning to bring you a full judgement as soon as possible. As I loaded the game, I spotted the “mostly negative” regarding Steam reviews and resolved to pay close attention to any stuttering, glitches or other technical issues. Close attention wasn’t necessary.

Even half an hour into the game, I’m seeing the framerate fluctuate wildly, even during cutscenes. The benchmark test (which reports highs of 47fps even though the game itself is locked to 30) reckons my average fps is 38 but with single digit lows. Once the game starts, the framerate is about as steady as Harvey Dent’s moodswings.

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Spare a thought for the person responsible for turning game features into Marketing Points™. One of the things Batman: Arkham Knight [official site] brings to the series, along with loads of Batguns, is sections where Nightwing, Catwoman, and others join the fray as AI partners you can switch between.

So here, look, it’s a new video showing off the feature that surely dozens of hours of meetings and agonising and focus testing named Dual Play Combat.

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Batman is well known for having some of the best villains in comics, but there are far more that are less well-known though, for one reason or another. Calendar Man for example is a villain whose crimes are related to the day upon which they’re committed. That sounds like the kind of thing I can tenuously relate to news that Batman: Arkham Knight [official site] has been delayed from June 2nd to June 23rd. There’s a new, seven-minute video of Batpunching below.

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Batman: Arkham Knight [official site] won’t be released until June but I already feel like I’m involved in a turbulent relationship with Rocksteady’s latest. After the disappointment of Arkham’s Oranges, I was relieved to hear the makers of Asylum and City were back on the case. That relief was soon replaced by doubt – much as I liked City, I felt it went too big and the addition of the Batmobile seems like it’ll steer the game even further away from the original’s tight design. The Batmobile trailer seemed to confirm my worst fears, like one of Scarecrow’s guffs, but now there’s another trailer. And I’m happy. Happier. Conflicted.

I might end up filing divorce papers before the bloody thing has been released.

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Hardly any time has passed since the previousArkham Knight trailer but I wanted to share this one for reasons that will become obvious. It’s all about the car, that being the big new feature and all, and it has managed to eradicate any enthusiasm I had about getting behind the wheel. The Batmobile looks more like a military fetishist’s wargasmic dream (never forget), and in the new clip we see more of its weaponry as it fights an army of tanks. Presumably they’re unmanned tank drones of some kind because Brucey does not seem concerned about the crew. Or collateral damage. It’s more Battlezone than Batman.